Any person can improve their earnings for retirement income by using an annuity, because it grows tax free.
You save the same amount as the next person, but your savings are not growing like your friends. She is retiring with a large guaranteed income. You feel like no matter what you try, it’s not getting the desired results.
When you retire, you need to replace income. Social Security, pensions, interest earnings are the basis of your future income. Will you be watching the shoreline disappear from your balcony on the cruise ship or be on the dock waving good bye? Will you have extra money to take the grandchildren on special adventures or ice creams? Will you have lunch with your friends at a special restaurant or meet for coffee?
Write down what income you will receive and how long you will receive it. Write down your expenses (don’t forget inflation!). The gap between your income and expenses is____________? This gap is costing you $X each month you do not solve the difference.The easiest way to grow your money is tax free. What is the difference between being taxed on your money as it is growing or growing it tax free?
If you were to take $1 and double it 20 times, how much money would you have? A whopping $1,048,576!
Now double that $1 again 20 times, but tax it at 28%. Double , tax, double, tax… so you start with $1 and double it make $2. But wait! The second dollar is earnings and is taxed at 28% so you only add $.72 for a total of $1.72. Now double the $1.72 taking out tax on the earnings and your total is $2.96 and so on. Do this 20 times and your total is much different from the no-tax example. Your total is $51,353.
Which would rather have? $1,048,576 or $51,353?The difference is where and how you grow your money. You don’t have to work harder to grow your money. Your money has to work harder for you! Transfer your money to a Roth IRA, municipal bond (under the right circumstances) or an annuity to grow your money tax free.A Roth must grow for 5 years before it is tax free-do you have that long? Where are you growing that money? Is it safe?A Municipal Bond grows at a low rate of interest and must be in your municipality to grow entirely tax free. (The 5 year average on a Franklin Colorado Tax-Free Income Fund is 1.8% as of 10/1/17).Annuities are backed by insurance companies. The fixed indexed annuities I work with grow the cash value safely and provide income for life. The income grows at a compounded rate of 3%-6.5% until you start taking income. That dollar amount is then guaranteed for life! And some have long term care like benefits. Plus get a bonus of 6% – 10% for starting an annuity.
You can either do the same as you have always done or look at different options. If you want to change the direction of your earnings and future income, call for a no cost strategy session. I make the transfer easy for you. Evaluate what you have, what you need and explore your options.

We have been taught to save, save, save for retirement. Saving becomes a way of life. We put off some of the little pleasures so we can sock away a few more dollars. Always looking to the future and what we might need. When is enough, enough? Is your money working hard for you while being safe? I can help you with this.

My parents went through the Great Depression and lived a frugal life. I was taught to save and I still keep some of those habits. Their friends were from the same era, so it was a way of life common to everyone I knew. Conspicuous consumption still bothers me.

So what happens when we are no longer working 9-5? Time to flip the switch to income. Whoa! Income? Yes, it is a time to stop accumulating more and start taking guaranteed income from what we saved. Time to realize we have enough to live on and start enjoying the fruits of all those years of saving. You have used good strategies, your money has been working hard for you and now it is time to reap the benefits.

This takes a 180 mentally. Stop accumulating more and start taking income. You earned it. We still may be frugal, but this is the time we worked for and planned for. We know we have an emergency fund, have guaranteed income to pay our bills, and may have some left over for pleasure or riskier investments. Time to enjoy and pursue the next stage of our lives!

Not sure if you will have enough guaranteed income? We can talk and have a “no cost strategy session.”

If you are expecting a tax refund, you planned well and will not owe any penalties or have any surprises. If it is a large refund, you may have too much withheld. This is not a bonus. This is an interest free loan to the government.

Here are some ways to spend that refund check.

1-Emergency Fund-Start or add to your fund in an interest -bearing account . This should be easily accessible for future emergencies.

2-Pay off High Interest Debt-Contribute to your emergency fund first and then pay off debt.

3-IRA-Start or add to your IRA (traditional or Roth) for the year. This can grow over the years to a sizeable amount. Or if you have a traditional IRA, consider converting some or all to a Roth paying the taxes for the conversion with this year’s refund. This will save you taxes in the future on the initial investment and the earnings.

4-Spend on Necessity-Car repair, dental work, house repair. Spend on something you have put off for lack of funds but really need!

5- Save for the Future-Start a savings account for specific goal. This saves from possibly creating debt in the future (I do not like car payments-save in advance!).

6-Splurge-Spend it on something you want! Vacation, home improvement, start a new business, summer camp for the kids. You did earn this money!

If you are in a low tax bracket, take advantage by converting some of the money in pre-tax 401(k)s and IRAs to a Roth. You will owe tax on what you convert. Remember that this needs to remain untouched for 5 years.

Roth IRAs are particularly valuable as an estate strategy. Traditional IRAs are required to begin taking distributions (RMDs) at age 70 ½. And as you draw down a Traditional IRA, you are required to pay taxes on it. With a Roth IRA, there are no required distributions and all the distributions you do take are tax-free. That means you can leave your money in a Roth IRA and allow it to grow and be passed along to your heirs. If you leave your Roth IRA to your spouse, he or she will receive it and can basically treat it as his or her own. Your spouse won’t be required to take distributions, or have to pay taxes.

If you name someone other than your spouse as a beneficiary, they will need to withdraw a minimum amount each year.

Now that you have all your W2s, 1099s, year-end statements, etc., it is time to see where you stand. Did you gain or lose?

Compare December 31, 2015 to December 31, 2016. Did you gain or lose? Did you keep up with inflation? The average is inflation rate is about 3%.If your returns were losing or flat, it is time to “spring clean.” Is the reason you have that investment still valid and keeping with your goals? The investment may have been a good idea years ago, but is it still in your best interest?

Not sure how to read your statements? I can help you understand what you have. Make an informed decision on what to keep and what to change. Call for a free consultation. 303-919-1020.

Kiplinger’s Personal FinanceKiplinger’s Money Power
With as little as $1,000 — or as much as $100,000 — your generosity can make a difference.WITH $1,000
Contribute to a Roth. If your grandchildren earn money, you can reward their hard work and seed their retirement by contributing to their Roth IRA or opening one for them. The contributions to each account may not exceed the amount they earned for the year, up to a maximum of $5,500 in 2017. They can withdraw the contributions tax- and penalty-free at any time, and after age 59 1/2, they can withdraw both the contributions and earnings tax- and penalty-free.WITH $10,000
Pay off student loans. By paying your grandchildren’s loans off after they graduate, you won’t affect their eligibility for financial aid. And even if the loans add up to much more than your gift, you can significantly reduce their monthly payment or enable them to pay off the debt much earlier. Say your grandson has $26,800 in loans (the average amount at graduation for borrowers at public schools), with a combined interest rate of 4.25 percent. If he paid off the loans over the standard 10-year repayment program, the monthly payment would be $275 a month, according to www.finaid.org. Reduce Retirement the amount by $10,000, and the monthly payment would be just $172 a month over 10 years. For the same $275 monthly payment on the smaller debt, your grandson could shave four years off his repayment period.WITH $100,000
Cover college from a tax-free fund. To really go grand, set up a 529 plan with your grandchild as a beneficiary and use it to fund his or her education. The money in 529 plans grows tax-deferred and escapes taxes altogether if the withdrawals are used for qualified educational expenses, such as room and board. (Otherwise, you’ll pay taxes and a 10-percent penalty on earnings.)
You and your spouse can each contribute up to $14,000 a year ($28,000 total) per child in 2017 without triggering the gift tax. But couples can also contribute as much as $140,000 (five times $28,000) at one time; contributing the money all at once removes it from your taxable estate. For tax purposes, you can elect to have it spread out in equal amounts over five years. You may be able to get a state income-tax deduction for a portion of your contribution, depending on your state (see www.savingforcollege.com). If your grandchild doesn’t go to college, you can switch beneficiaries, or use the money yourself, in which case you’ll pay the penalty and taxes on the earnings, and the money reverts to your estate.

Here’s What to Look For
Karen Damato from Money
Jan 05, 2017
If you will celebrate your 62nd birthday in 2017 or soon after, you’re in the vanguard of a big change in Social Security: Starting with people hitting that milestone in January, the full retirement age (FRA)—that is, when you can collect your entire earned benefit—will creep up from 66 to 67 in two-month increments over the next six years.
You’ll still be able to begin your Social Security payments as young as 62. And, like now, you’ll be assured of getting a larger check for each month you delay up to age 70. But here’s the rub when the FRA goes up: “At every age along the line you are receiving a smaller benefit” than you would have before, assuming the same work record, says Jim Blankenship, a financial planner and author in New Berlin, Ill.
Surprised? That’s not the only unexpected math you may encounter when you’re deciding when to claim Social Security, whether you should work longer, and whether you would benefit from a retirement job. To make the smartest decisions, here’s what you need to know about the tricky math of Social Security.
Waiting Until Age 70 to Claim Now Means a Smaller Bonus
From the perspective of a future retiree, the increase in the full retirement age is a benefit cut, as you can see below.

Notes: FRA is 66 for people born between 1943 and 1954 and then creeps up in two-month increments, reaching 67 for those born in 1960 or later. Sources: MONEY calculations using Social Security online tools
Say you want to start collecting at age 65. That is 12 months early if your FRA is 66, but 24 months early if your FRA is 67, meaning you take a bigger haircut. With an FRA of 66, you can get 75% of your full benefit if you begin at 62; with an FRA of 67, that portion drops to 70%. Similarly, if you claim at age 70, you’ll get 124% of your benefit when the FRA is 67, vs. 132% before.

How long should I keep records?
The length of time you should keep a document depends on the action, expense, or event which the document records. Generally, you must keep your records that support an item of income, deduction or credit shown on your tax return until the period of limitations for that tax return runs out.
The period of limitations is the period of time in which you can amend your tax return to claim a credit or refund, or the IRS can assess additional tax. The information below reflects the periods of limitations that apply to income tax returns. Unless otherwise stated, the years refer to the period after the return was filed. Returns filed before the due date are treated as filed on the due date.
Note: Keep copies of your filed tax returns. They help in preparing future tax returns and making computations if you file an amended return.
Period of Limitations that apply to income tax returns
1-Keep records for 3 years if situations (4), (5), and (6) below do not apply to you.
2-Keep records for 3 years from the date you filed your original return or 2 years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later, if you file a claim for credit or refund after you file your return.
3-Keep records for 7 years if you file a claim for a loss from worthless securities or bad debt deduction.
4-Keep records for 6 years if you do not report income that you should report, and it is more than 25% of the gross income shown on your return.
5-Keep records indefinitely if you do not file a return.
6-Keep records indefinitely if you file a fraudulent return.
7-Keep employment tax records for at least 4 years after the date that the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later.
The following questions should be applied to each record as you decide whether to keep a document or throw it away.
Are the records connected to property?
Generally, keep records relating to property until the period of limitations expires for the year in which you dispose of the property. You must keep these records to figure any depreciation, amortization, or depletion deduction and to figure the gain or loss when you sell or otherwise dispose of the property.
If you received property in a nontaxable exchange, your basis in that property is the same as the basis of the property you gave up, increased by any money you paid. You must keep the records on the old property, as well as on the new property, until the period of limitations expires for the year in which you dispose of the new property.
What should I do with my records for nontax purposes?
When your records are no longer needed for tax purposes, do not discard them until you check to see if you have to keep them longer for other purposes. For example, your insurance company or creditors may require you to keep them longer than the IRS does.